‘MASSIVE, MASSIVE BLOW’

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OUTGOING CHAIRMAN of Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL), Chris Williams, said the loss of SportsMax will be a massive blow not just to the Jamaica Premier League but to all sporting communities across the region.

In an announcement yesterday, Digical stated that it would be closing operations on two of its brands: Loop News and SportsMax.

Loop News has been shut down with immediate effect while SportsMax will hold its final day of broadcasting on August 8.

Digicel explained the decisions to close both brands was due to their new business strategy.

In response to the news, Williams said the loss of SportsMax will be a major blow for the entire Caribbean region.

“This is a massive, massive blow to sports, not just the Jamaica Premier League. It’s a massive blow to ISSA [Inter-Secondar Schools Sports Assoiation], to Manning Cup, to netball, to the entire Caribbean,” he said.

Williams explained that the broadcasters have had a major impact on the popularity of local sports and introduced them to a wider audience which would otherwise have been unable to access the local leagues.

“I want to go on record to say a big thank you to Digicel and SportsMax for forging and exploding the popularity of local sports in Jamaica. They made a clear, strategic decision to lock in on us and present us in a professional, First World manner,” he said.

“It is a massive loss to the continued development and commercialisation of our sports.”

The PFJL chairman, who demits office in August, said the impact was not just on the audience, but on the players as well.

Williams explained that several players from the JPL had earned opportunities overseas due to being able to better market themselves to agents and clubs due to footage captured by SportsMax.

This, he explained, proved a life-changer for several local players and provided the continued development of local talents.

“I’m sorry that for whatever reason, it didn’t work out in a business sense for the powers that be, but nevertheless, SportsMax left its mark,” Williams said.

“The players, and I’m speaking specifically of the Jamaica Premier League, the players that achieved international contracts did so on the back of the work of the cameramen and the work of SportsMax.

“It is the footage that was produced by SportsMax that allowed that, so it has had significant impact on the lives of our footballers.

Williams also took the time to offer his gratitude to SportsMax and its employees for their years of partnership with the PFJL.

“A big thank you to cameramen, the producers, to the commentators, to all of them,” he commended.

“I just want to give my special thanks to the team members, past and current. I want them to know that they made a significant impression on us — a job well done.”

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com

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